The HR profession is mostly women (look around you at any event and you’ll see). Yet when we look at the representation of females in the C-suite, whether in HR or in general, the blend is more evenly mixed or even weighted towards men. Why?
The 2016 HR Technology Conference had a new feature: the Women in HR Tech Summit. The event was a success by all measures, but one person heard about the summit and started to wonder, what do female executives in HR technology do differently? What makes them successful? What lessons can we translate to the HR community at large, helping women to achieve greater success in their roles as executives, HR leaders, and business professionals?
In episode 6 of We’re Only Human, I interviewed Lynn Miller, a researcher exploring the interesting world of female founders and CEOs in HR Technology. She talks about what separates this group from their male counterparts and also explains the value they can bring in terms of customer satisfaction and more. (Subscribers, click through to listen to the embedded show below.)
For more information about Lynn’s research, check out her LinkedIn series .
To check out other episodes of We’re Only Human or learn more about what I’m up to, check out the Podcast page.
Also, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Why do you think this mix of females diminishes at higher levels of responsibility? What can we do to fix it, if it should be fixed? What would you want to know from these CEOs and high achievers if you had a chance to talk with them one-on-one?
There is a very high personal and professional commitment level required for positions at the VP level and above (sometimes even Directors). I think that professionals, especially women, evaluate the commitment required against their personal situation and make a decision to pursue advancement or not — is the money/fame/prestige/intrinsic value/whatever worth the sacrifices that I need to make to be successful in this position? I was once asked in an interview why I haven’t advanced further than my current level.
Personally, a job has never been such an amazing opportunity that I am willing to sacrifice significant time away from my children. There will be a day in the nearer future that my kids do not want to be around me and I will pursue advancement at that time because I really do enjoy working in HR. But as long as they want to hang out with me, I will be with them. Even if I missed out on being the next CHRO.
Fascinating subject. :)